OSR’s operating model

Users

Our work starts with users: we consider user needs for statistics, and user concerns about how statistics are being produced and used. This user perspective:

• drives our priorities, including understanding the most important statistics from a user perspective, which we focus on in our core regulatory work
• forms the core input into our casework function through the concerns raised with us
• provides the most important evidence base for our assessments and reviews

Our main mechanisms for user evidence are:

• bilateral engagement with key users, undertaken by our domain leads and senior leadership team
• requests for user input into our assessments
• The Raise a Concern section of our website (and our casework function more generally)
• monitoring of media and social media
• direct public engagement through our research function and through work with our partners, such as PEDRI and ADRUK

We always seek to demonstrate our values through this user engagement –responding with empathy and professionalism.

Domains

OSR organises our core regulatory work around domains. Domains are thematic areas of public interest.

We currently have seven domains:

• Housing, Environment, Agriculture and Transport
• Heath and Social Care
• Crime, Education and Justice
• Labour Market and Welfare
• Economy, Business and Trade
• Population and Society
• Cross-Cutting Team

Our level of activity and focus on domains varies depending on public interest quality concerns and the level of innovation shown by the producers of statistics in each domain. So, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health and Social Care domain featured the highest level of activity. More recently, with the concerns in the media and in parliament relating to ONS and the economic and survey statistics it produces, our Economy, Business and Trade and Labour Market and Welfare domains have seen high levels of activity. The Crime, Education and Justice and Population and Society domains have also seen significant activity.

We do not seek to predict which domains will have the highest level of activity over the next few years. This will depend on emerging areas of quality concern. However, three domains are likely to be particularly active in the first two years of the strategy, and probably beyond:

• Economy, Business and Trade: In April 2025, we published our review of the quality of ONS’s economic statistics. This review highlighted a series of quality concerns and set a requirement for ONS to publish and implement a recovery plan for its core surveys and overall delivery plan for economic statistics. ONS published both in June 2025. In 2025, 2026 and 2027, we will focus on both the implementation of this plan, and on providing assurance on the extent to which ONS is addressing quality issues.
• Labour Market and Welfare: ONS and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) will continue to transform their labour force surveys, with key decision points currently scheduled for 2025 and 2026. We will ensure that these transformations are carried out in line with the standards of the Code.
• Population and Society: There are significant projects on population statistics – first, because of the shift to using administrative data to estimate migration and the overall population, and second, because NISRA, National Records of Scotland and ONS are all preparing for Census 2031.

We also have created a new cross-cutting domain. This domain leads on systemic issues and is therefore crucial to our ability to drive system improvements (strategic theme 2).

Development functions

Our development functions ensure that we are continuously refreshing the foundations that underpin our work and keep pace and contribute to new thinking in the world of statistics.

Our development functions are:

• Policy and Standards: The Code is a key part of the standards against which we form our judgements in assessments (strategic theme 1). Our supporting guidance also acts as a catalyst for systemic improvement (strategic theme 2).
• Data and Methods: Ensures that we are equipped to regulate in an evolving world and that we have the expertise to keep pace.
• Research: Breaks new ground in our understanding of how statistics can serve the public good. Our research function ensures that we remain curious and innovative and that our regulatory model has strong foundations.

Support functions

Our support functions ensure that we operate with efficiency and impact.

• Communications: Manages our communication, outreach and engagement with users and stakeholders (all strategic themes), maximising our reach and impact.
• Business Support and Private Office: Underpin our organisational effectiveness, ensuring our working is well managed.
• Evaluation: Monitors and reports on our impact and outcomes, including our progress against the commitments in this strategy.

Tools

Our key tools are:

• the Code
• reviews of compliance
• accreditation of official statistics
• systemic reviews
• guidance, outreach and convening
• research
• casework

We will balance our use of these tools according to the improvement and assurance that we are seeking to provide. For example, when conducting reviews of accredited official statistics, our primary tools are compliance reviews and accreditation, supported by systemic reviews.